Testing is often seen as a secondary concern — something to be handled by QA after the “real work” of development is done. But what if we turned that mindset around? What if developers themselves owned the testing process from the start?
In a recent interview, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Vitaly Sharovatov, Engineering Manager at Qase, to talk about why developers should take testing more seriously — and how tools like Qase (a modern Test Management System) can help streamline that process.
🚀 Vitaly’s Philosophy: “Beautiful Code Must Do What’s Expected”
Vitaly doesn’t hold back: beautiful code means nothing if it doesn’t meet expectations. And without tests — both manual and automated — we can’t confidently say our code does what it’s supposed to do.
He shares his workflow for testing firmware for ESP devices, where every small bug in hardware or setup can be costly and time-consuming. His solution? When manual tests start to take too long, he automates. It’s that simple. And he’s built custom reporters to send ESP integration test results straight into Qase, making his test reports centralized, trackable, and shareable.
“If I see that a manual test takes too much of my time, I automate it. That’s it.”
🔧 The Role of a Test Management System (TMS)
Vitaly walks through how he uses Qase as a single source of truth for expectations. Whether it’s integration tests or manual test steps even his wife can follow (literally), everything is in one place.
With a TMS, developers can:
- Define test cases in plain English (with screenshots and steps)
- Combine manual and automated tests into one test run
- Prove the ROI of automation with real data
- Share expectations early with product managers to avoid miscommunication
“You can use Excel, sure. But Excel doesn’t give you automation, collaboration, or visibility across your team.”
📊 Real Value for Indie Developers & Teams
We also talked about accessibility. Qase offers a free tier, and for indie developers or open-source contributors, there’s room to collaborate directly with the Qase team (just ping Vitaly on LinkedIn).
Vitaly’s story — building a custom C++ test reporter, killing a microcontroller with static electricity (“RIP Greg 😢”), and involving his non-tech wife in testing — is both practical and inspiring. It highlights a truth we all know but often ignore: your job isn’t done when the code compiles.
👇 Ready to Rethink Testing?
If you’re an Android developer, firmware tinkerer, or solo founder trying to release quality apps faster, this talk will give you tools and mindset shifts to test smarter, not harder.
🎥 Watch the full video interview: https://youtu.be/2ouS1rMTM74
🔗 Connect with Vitaly on LinkedIn
🛠️ Explore Qase.io
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